Sampha Process LP (Vinyl)

TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal

Debut Album On Vinyl LP!

Sampha hails from Morden, south London and has spent the last six years generously dividing his musical talents across solo and collaborative work. In addition to his own revered solo releases (his debut Sundanza EP, 2013's Dual EP and "Too Much / Without You" single), Sampha contributed majorly to SBTRKT's acclaimed debut and follow up Wonder Where We Land as co-writer and featured vocalist, and went on to tour worldwide as half of the SBTRKT live show (spanning Glastonbury, Primavera, Coachella, Brixton Academy, Terminal 5...).

Equally in demand as a songwriter, singer, producer and player, Sampha has been sampled by and produced for Drake ("The Motion" and "Too Much ft Sampha"), Kanye West ("Saint Pablo ft Sampha"), Beyonce ("Mine ft Drake"), Katy B ("Play ft Sampha") and FKA twigs (LP1 standout "Numbers") and Solange's "Don't Cut My Hair". He also remains a frequent collaborator in the Young Turks family and beyond; from remixing The xx and Chairlift to experimenting in sonics and structure as half of production duo Short Stories (alongside Koreless). Other significant partnerships include Jessie Ware on "Valentine" and Lil Silva ("Salient Sarah" + "On Your Own").

"Admirably, the album is without opportunistic reciprocal collaborations, unless one inconspicuous Kanye West co-composition counts. It's largely a solitary and intensely personal effort, co-produced by Rodaidh McDonald, ranging from placid piano ballads to urgent electro-soul. All the narratives, expressed in anguished, repentant, and haunted terms, befit a voice that always sounds as if it's on the brink of choking back tears. Sampha's vocals can be an acquired taste, but they're instantly identifiable and heartfelt. They're all the more compelling when detailing interpersonal ruptures, drawing imagery like 'I took the shape of a letter, slipped myself underneath your door,' or in a state of agitation, 'gasping for air.' The album reaches its most stirring point in 'Kora Sings,' built on an alternately serene and jittery production, over which Sampha sings to his dying mother, trailing off after 'You don't know how strong you are.' None of it is particularly light. Sampha's exquisite melodies and detailed productions nonetheless make all the references to longing, disturbed sleep, injurious heat, and shattered glass go down easy. 'Reverse Faults,' sparkling low-profile trap with a dizzying combination of smeared glints and jutting background vocals, might be the best display of Sampha's skill set. Another marvel is the hurtling, breakbeat-propelled 'Blood on Me,' its last 40 seconds juiced with some of the nastiest synthesized bass since Alexander O'Neal's 'Fake.'" - AllMusic

"Exposed to an enviable variety of music from a young age, the album is an amalgamation of his influences. He darts between R'n'B, soul and melancholic pop with ease, while his penchant for electronic production came with the territory growing up in the London grime scene; on heavier cut 'Blood On Me' a trip-hop beat clatters beneath echoes of heavy breathing, while he howls about being hunted by faceless shadows... Process is an exercise in catharsis, a deep breath in that lays Sampha's soul bare through gorgeous vignettes of his life. He worries, he regrets, he aches. He's human." - The Skinny

"After singing with Solange, Drake, Kanye, and Frank, Sampha releases his debut LP. It's a remarkable, meditative work, as he processes grief and navigates self-discovery." - Pitchfork

"A treasured contributor to R&B's inner circle (Beyoncé, Drake, Solange, Kanye West), singer-producer Sampha Sisay emerges as their peer on this ethereal debut album. Buoyed by his breathless delivery, Process has a weightless, hypnotic quality for an album born of such profound introspection over the costs of death and the vagaries of grief. A health scare of his own drives Sampha to open the album gripped by anxiety: 'Sleeping with my worries,' he relates on 'Plastic 100°,' 'I didn't really know what that lump was.' But it's the death of Sampha's mother (from lung cancer) that both haunts and inspires Process' deep emotional recesses. Anguish and loss converge in a miasma of samples and harmonies on the dark, desperate fantasies 'Blood on Me' and 'Under'; but perhaps the album's most affecting songs ('Timmy's Prayer,' '[No One Knows Me] Like the Piano') are its most spare, with Sampha's voice a steadying presence, even while he's crying out in despair." - Rolling Stone, 20 Best R&B Albums Of 2017

Features:
• Vinyl LP

Selections:
Side A:
1. Plastic 100°C
2. Blood On Me
3. Kora Sings
4. (No One Know Me) Like The Piano
5. Take Me Inside
Side B:
1. Reverse Faults
2. Under
3. Timmy's Prayer
4. Incomplete Kisses
5. What Shouldn't I Be?